# Blackadder (1983)

> A cynical, scheming Edmund Blackadder and his loyal, dim servant Baldrick stumble through British history in a series of satirical period sitcoms.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/6746

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 24
- Episode runtime: 32 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Richard Curtis, Rowan Atkinson, Ben Elton
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Brian Blessed, Elspet Gray, Robert East, Patsy Byrne, Helen Atkinson-Wood, Frank Finlay
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084988/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: cynical, irreverent, witty, absurd, dark

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, with later seasons regarded as its sharpest and most polished work.

## Synopsis

Blackadder (1983-1989) is a British anthology sitcom created by Richard Curtis, Rowan Atkinson and Ben Elton for BBC One. Rowan Atkinson plays Captain Edmund Blackadder, a cynical, self-serving schemer who reappears as a new ancestor in each season, and Tony Robinson plays Baldrick, his loyal but dim servant who is forever pursuing turnips and plots that go wrong. Across four seasons of six episodes each, the pair stumble through different periods of British history, from a medieval court to Elizabethan intrigue, a royal Regency household and the trenches of the First World War. The engine of each season is Blackadder's relentless attempt to climb the social ladder or dodge disaster, while the people around him, including Brian Blessed as King Richard IV and Miranda Richardson as the Queen, provide foils for his schemes. Each season is built from self-contained stories of farce, wordplay and bleak irony, with the comedy growing darker as the run progresses. Written in the spirit of British satire, it has a wry, irreverent tone that will appeal to fans of Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses and Horrible Histories. The show is a tight, rewatchable 24-episode run of short episodes that never outstays its welcome.

## Shows like Blackadder

- [The Thin Blue Line (1995)](https://ember.film/tv/2182)
- [Red Dwarf (1988)](https://ember.film/tv/302)
- [Jeeves and Wooster (1990)](https://ember.film/tv/997)
- [The Young Ones (1982)](https://ember.film/tv/4264)
- [Man Vs Bee (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/123469)
- [Bottom (1991)](https://ember.film/tv/4078)
- [Yes, Prime Minister (1986)](https://ember.film/tv/11746)
- [Dad's Army (1968)](https://ember.film/tv/475)
- [I, Claudius (1976)](https://ember.film/tv/5198)
- [Horrible Histories (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/29836)

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